Posts Tagged “Al Martin”

Jimmy "J.J." Walker at Broadway Comedy Club

If you were around in the 70’s, 1973-1979 to be exact, then you were aware of Jimmy “J.J.” Walker who played J.J. Evans in the Norman Lear, CBS hit “Good Times”, with Esther Rolle who played JJ’s mom Florida Evans, and John Amos who played his dad Michael Evans.

Interestingly enough, Good Times was a spin-off of Maude, which was itself a spin-off of All in the Family along with The Jeffersons. And it was co-created by Mike Evans, who portrayed Lionel Jefferson on the Norman Lear-produced series All in the Family and The Jeffersons.

JImmy “J.J” Walker onstage at Broadway Comedy Club without a floppy hat, but making one of his signature faces!

At the time that JJ was on the show he played so much younger than he actually was that John Amos who played his Dad was only 8 years older than him!

JJ’s signature phrase was “Dyn-O-Mite!” which follows him to this day. And in my interview with him recently at Broadway Comedy Club where he showed up with his agent and my old friend Roger Paul, he said he was grateful for that tag, “Dyn-O-Mite”! Very few performers have something that sticks for so long. Like Rodney Dangerfield will always be associated with the phrase “No Respect.” In comedy having an identity like that is magical!

The main room downstairs was packed, wall to wall, and JJ went up on stage and knocked it out of the park. He talked about the economy being so bad that when you rent an apartment they want the first month’s rent and the last month’s rent. JJ was like, ” I wasn’t even here last month! Why do I gotta pay that guy’s rent?”

Jimmy “J.J.” Walker killing it onstage at Broadway Comedy Club! The audience loved him!

In talking about doing drug testing of post office employees, he said, “The one drug you won’t find is speed!”

And in talking about crime, he told of a 21 year old man who tried to rob a Toys ‘R Us with a toy gun. He was shot by a 5 year old with a real gun!

And he said, ” As crowded as jails are these days, they always seem to have room for Black people!”

He was just filled with funny lines. He said that Kim Kardashian is like Kryptonite for Black men, and that they tried to do a Real Housewives of San Francisco, but they couldn’t find any.

He even acted out scenes from a fictional Maury Povich show where the Black characters were named what sounded to me like Aquaneshia and Tyquarius, and he called “Cops” a Black reality show with a three tattoo minimum and a 4 tooth maximum.

I was so glad to see him being so funny after all these years. And he was so kind to his audience. He stayed afterwards to greet people who wanted to take photos and buy his merchandise.

Jimmy “J.J.” Walker and Jeffrey Gurian from Comedy Matters TV at Al Martin’s Broadway Comedy Club!

It just goes to show you that being funny is like riding a bike. You never lose it, and if you fall off the end of the stage you get right back up and start telling jokes again!

Check out the cool video interview we did after the show!

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Al Lubel, The James Bond of Comedy, at Broadway Comedy

Al Lubel likes his name. He says it a lot. He says it so much in fact that it becomes hysterical. If you don’t believe me ask anyone in the audience at any of his shows. I see a lot of comedy but it’s really rare to hear such sustained laughter throughout one set.

The hysterically funny Al Lubel on stage at Broadway Comedy Club!

Even the funniest comics have ups and downs, but Al Lubel really brings it! And Al was just part of a fantastic show I saw at Broadway Comedy.

Chris Murphy who has hair that any rock star in a hair band would envy was the MC. Chris said he gets yelled at a lot in the street because of his hair. People make remarks. Once someone yelled out ” Faggot”, and he was really ticked off, until he realized that of all the men in the crowd he was the only one who turned around!

Comic/MC Chris Murphy onstage at Broadway Comedy Club!

He’s also a redhead and said he hates it. He said if he married another redhead his kid would come out clear!

And he talked about the Irish being alcoholics. He said his father got a DUI, … during his driving test! (Hysterical!) And it was on the written part! (That’s what’s known as “the topper!”)

Not only is Chris funny, but he’s also a gentleman. He gave me a shout-out from the stage about my new book with Chris Rock called ” Make ‘Em Laugh”! Very cool!

Daniel Tirado talked about HIS father too. His father drank too but refused to go to Alcoholics Anonymous. He said that everyone knows he drinks, so he can’t be anonymous!

He also claimed to be a great cuddler, but said it’s not the kind of thing you can brag to your boys about! “Man, I cuddled the shit out of that girl!”

Daniel Tirado killing it onstage at Broadway Comedy Club!

He also talked about picking up chicks in third world countries, and how the lines would differ from what you might use at home, ” Girl, I heard the Red Cross is in town this weekend. Maybe we could get together and get vaccinated!” Very funny stuff!

Ross Bennett is always a crowd pleaser, from the time he opens till he closes by asking the audience if they mind if he does a line from an old act, and with their permission says, ” How about that Watergate thing?” He always leaves the stage to huge applause.

Ross Bennett looking like he’s trying to hail a cab from the stage at Broadway Comedy Club!

Chips Cooney comes out as a master magician and purposely messes up the tricks but it’s hysterical!

Chips Cooney performing comedy magic at Broadway Comedy Club!

But Al Lubel is a story unto himself. Really strange thoughts, really clever, really funny. He’s obsessed with saying AlLubel, as if it’s one name like Cher, or Rihanna. The way James Bond introduces himself in his inimitable way by saying, “Bond. James Bond!” Al would say, “AlLubel! AlLubel”! It may not play well on paper, but onstage it’s a killer.

He was walking down the street thinking, ” Nothing ever dawns on me!” I love that. It reminds me of the fact that I enjoy “mentioning” things to people. I do it as a hobby.

Al Lubel wondering why things never dawn on him, at Broadway Comedy Club!

More Al Lubellism’s – He said he tried to raise his self-esteem but then he realized he wasn’t worth it.

After saying his name many times in a row, he said to the audience, ” The more I say my name, the more you look at me and say, ” Who is this guy?” I’m Al Lubel.

His room is so small, it’s only 5×10. He personally is 2×6. When he gets out of bed, he’s still in bed! ( I love that! LOLOLOL)

All he does all day is sleep and rest. On his tombstone they’ll write, ” May he continue to rest in Peace!”

He even thought about suicide, and wondered how people would react if he jumped off a building, and just before he landed he shot himself in the head. People on the ground would think, ” He couldn’t wait another second?”

I could listen to AlLubel all night. And the best part is that he works clean! A real rarity, even in my own act!

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Broadway Comedy Always A Treat

At any given night you will find an amazing line-up of comedians at Broadway Comedy Club, on West 53rd Street, right in the heart of the Times Square area. On a recent Tuesday night when I stopped by, the place was packed as it usually is, and Dan Siegel was MC’ing.

Some of the top performers were Leah Bonnema, who recently performed at the Glascow Comedy Festival, where she was in the America Stands Up Showcase, the Huffington Post voted her one of their 53 favorite comedians to watch, … and I really meant to ask her how they came up with that number, because most news organizations stop at their favorite 51 comics!, (I on the other hand was listed as one of the top 10 comics to keep under surveillance!), and College Candy listed her as one of their top ten female comics in the country! So that’s all good!

Leah Bonnema onstage at Broadway Comedy Club!

Ricky Velez went up and killed it as usual. I just find it hard to believe he’s only 23. He comes across as much more mature than that! Not by his material, by his appearance! It’s a great time to start performing when you’re in your 20’s, but then you have to be funny for 60 or 70 years. That’s a long time. I only wanted to have to be funny for 20-25 years tops. That’s why I started so late!

A young but mature looking Ricky Velez making people laugh at Broadway Comedy!

And I was glad to see Ross Bennett on the show because he is always a crowd pleaser! Ross talks about a guy who got killed in a skydiving accident, because his parachute failed to open, and at the funeral they said that at least he died doing what he loved. Ross differs with that. Ross said the guy probably was doing what he loved up until about a minute before he died, unless what he loved was seeing small things become larger very quickly!

He talks about speaking to a young woman who was willing to share with him what men she would “do”, and he came to the conclusion that when a young woman feels comfortable enough with you to share who she would “do”, she will NEVER do YOU! (LOL)

Ross Bennett entertaining the folks at Broadway Comedy Club in NYC!

At the end of his act, he asked the audience if they minded if he did an older joke because it was one of his favorites, and when they agreed he said, ” How about that Watergate thing?”

Every night at Broadway is a great line-up, so be sure to stop by and tell ’em I sent you!

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Ladies of Laughter 2012 Kicks Off at Broadway Comedy

Peggy Boyce is back with the 2012 Ladies of Laughter comedy competition, and it’s stronger than ever. It kicked off at Broadway Comedy Club, and I’m proud to say I was one of the judges.

Ladies of Laughter 2012 Comedy Competition kicked off at Broadway Comedy Club!

Founder of Ladies of Laughter, Peggy Boyce onstage at Broadway Comedy, greeting the packed audience!

The very funny Dena Blizzard who actually won this contest, maybe back in 2002, was the host of the evening, and she did not disappoint! She was really great as usual, and has been doing warm-up for several TV shows including Anderson Cooper.

Dena Blizzard, host of Ladies of Laughter with Jeffrey Gurian of Comedy Matters TV,(and we match perfectly!)

There were two categories of female performers, pros and amateurs. Some of the amateurs had very little experience, like Jamie Leigh Falk who had only performed maybe twice, but were still funny.

Brand spanking new comic Jamie Falk onstage at Broadway Comedy for Ladies of Laughter, 2012!

Pro Nancy Witter kicked it off, and said she had two kids who by now ” had to be in their 20’s! They’re like family!”

Nancy Witter performing in the “Pro” category at Broadway Comedy Club!

Ellen Orchid, another “pro”, ( comic, not hooker!), did a funny impression of a TV set.

Ellen Orchid with a glimpse of how she would look on TV!

Amateur Nicci Page had great stage presence and material to back it up, and she won for best amateur comic.

Nicci Page who won for Best Amateur Comic at Ladies of Laughter, 2012!

Lisa Blythe Perlman, another “Pro” had an interesting game she played by judging women from behind, ” Asian or Skinny Jew?” She was the runner-up on the “Pro” category!

Lisa Blythe-Perlman, runner-up in the “Pro” category onstage at Broadway Comedy!

Jen Remauro, an amateur, said she got suspended from Twitter for wishing Kim Kardashian’s vagina a “Happy Black History Month!” She also said she explains away her child to prospective dates by telling them she has a 7 year old roommate!

Jen Remauro, at Ladies of Laughter! She wished Kim Kardashian what???

Sheila Smiley had good energy onstage, and was an audience favorite, but didn’t win cause that’s how these things go! Only one person can win at a time!

Marie Faustin was very cute, and had a fun hairstyle. She was in the amateur category, and said she lived in a neighborhood so bad they had a rape schedule. She was the first runner-up in the amateur category, and I think you’ll be seeing more of her!

Marie Faustin and her fun hair at Broadway! She was the runner-up in the amateur category!

Nancy Lombardo of course was in the Pro” category and did some fun character work which she excels at!

An animated Nancy Lombardo in Peggy Boyce’s Ladies of Laughter at Broadway Comedy!

The winner of the “pro” category was Maryanne Donnelly, who was very unique and reminded me of a female Ross Bennett, before he cut his hair!

Maryanne Donnelly, the winner in the “Pro” category for that night at Broadway Comedy! Finals are August 15th!

Runner-up Marie Faustin, winners Nicci Page and Maryanne Donnelly, and founder Peggy Boyce at Broadway Comedy!

It was a fun night at Broadway Comedy with lots of laughs! I would have loved to judge other shows in Ladies of Laughter (LOL- that’s the abbreviation for Ladies of Laughter, not Laughing Out Loud! LOL), but I’m heading up to Montreal this week to do celeb interviews for the 30th anniversary of the Just For Laughs Festival, for my Comedy Matters TV channel! Stay tuned!

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Sheba Mason in 702 Punchlines and Pregnant at Broadway Comedy Club

To be 100% honest, I was totally unprepared for what I was to see when I attended 702 Punchlines and Pregnant, Sheba Mason’s show, written by her Mom Ginger Reiter. The show has been running for two years at the Broadway Comedy Club.

Ginger Reiter and Sheba Mason at Broadway Comedy Club for their show “702 Punchlines and Pregnant!”

I’ve known Sheba for quite a while and enjoyed her performance as a comic, but I had no idea she was so multi-talented, and had such a great voice. I’m assuming she gets her talent from her Mom, Ginger Reiter who wrote this entire show, (with Sheba), plus the music and lyrics to about 25 songs, which were expertly arranged by Markus Hauck.

I truly did not expect a performance of the caliber that I saw. I expected maybe a .22 caliber and this was like a .357 Magnum caliber! (LOL) It’s the story of how Sheba came to be as the result of a love affair between her mother and comedian Jackie Mason.

Trevor Crane as Jackie presenting Sheba as Ginger with a supposedly expensive watch, that turned out to be a cheap, broken watch!

It’s set in Florida and one of the sets is The Rascal House, a well known Miami Beach coffee shop. In the show, Jackie denies fathership of the baby, until it’s proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that it’s his. In real life all you have to do is look at Sheba to see the resemblance. Thank G-d she’s a pretty girl!

Unfortunately, the actor that plays Jackie Mason was hurt in a bike accident as was Sheba who performed with a bandaged leg, but she still managed to show up, dance and do her part. What a trouper! That’s the essence of “the show must go on!”

A talented actor named Trevor Crane, who is a Conan O’Brien impersonator, took the role of Jackie, and was introduced as a tall Gentile playing a short Jew. The essence of acting is being someone you’re not, and in this case he definitely stretched, (or maybe shrunk would be more accurate!), to play the part, and it worked well!

Trevor Crane as Jackie Mason and Sheba Mason as her Mom Ginger Reiter in 702 Punchlines and Pregnant, at Broadway Comedy Club!

The entire cast is very talented and includes Jara Jones as Wooley, and The Schlepalong, Gary Lizardo as Nelson Zee , and Bari Hyman as Rosa the waitress.

(L-R) Jara Jones, Trevor Crane, Sheba Mason, Gary Lizardo, Remina Nishida, Jennifer Yadav, and Bari Hyman at Broadway Comedy Club!

The cast of 702 Punchlines singing on stage at Broadway Comedy Club!

The cast of 702 Punchlines and Pregnant in a catchy dance number at Broadway Comedy Club!

Ginger gets to come onstage a couple of times, and be part of the production and stand-out voices besides Sheba were Remina Neshida, who played Trixie, the other-“other woman”, and Jennifer Yadav who played Mrs. Olivier, Ginger’s Mom. In the beginning of the show, Sheba plays herself, and then for the rest of the play she plays her Mom.

Remina Nishida playing Trixie in 702 Punchlines at Broadway Comedy Club!

It plays on Sundays at 3 P.M. Do yourself a favor and go see it!

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Ladies of Laughter 2012 Launches at Broadway Comedy, July 17th

Mary Jo Wobker was a comedy producer/comic who gave many new female comics their start, from around 1989 until her sudden demise in 1992. In those days they were called “comediennes”. Now the same way that girls would rather be called ” actors”, than “actresses”, girl comics just want to be called “comics.”

When Mary Jo passed away, that’s when Peggy Boyce stepped up to take over as a producer of female or double X-chromosome-type comedy events! (For you science majors out there! LOL)

Peggy is a former stand-up comedienne/juggler who has appeared in major comedy clubs and festivals, and has also provided public relations, special events and sponsorship marketing services to corporations that include Anheuser-Busch, CIBA, Citibank, Harrah’s Entertainment, Kraft and MasterCard.

She also teaches comedy workshops in the New York metropolitan area and is a member of the New York Friars Club.

Along with Mary Jo’s friends, Peggy created a women’s stand-up comedy competition in her name. The “Mary Jo Comedy Awards.” It served as a platform for women comics to gain publicity, and even cash ( which is always good!), to further their careers.

In 1998, the “Mary Jo Comedy Awards” evolved into a series of live events in New Jersey called “New Jersey’s Funniest Female.” In 1999, based on its success and popularity, plus having corporate sponsorship, they were able to extend their reach outward to an international level.

Now called the Ladies of Laughter, funny women around the United States, Canada and England regularly apply for participation.

This year, the Ladies of Laughter Kicks Off It’s 2012 Series featuring some of the funniest professional and amateur comediennes in America competing for the right to advance to the Finals for the 2012 Ladies of Laughter titles, paid comedy bookings, cash, major publicity and Leica Cameras! Not too shabby!

And charity-wise a percentage of the cover charges will go to benefit “Buddy Cares”, an organization which provides free grooming for abandoned animals.

For tickets/reservations go to: http://www.ladiesoflaughter.org/2012-series/

It’s going to be a great line-up. Some of the comics you’ll see are, Nancy Lombardo, Kerri Louise, Roberta Rockwell, Maryanne Donnelly, Lisa Pearlman, Sheila Smiley, Ellen Orchid, Marie Faustin, Nicci Page, Jamie Falk, Zoe Marsh-Leigh, Laura Agentar, Liza Acevado, Manjit Kalirao, and Jen Ramauro.

Who says girls can’t be funny??? I even suggested a couple of newer comics that I thought were good including Corinne Fischer, Aminah Imani, and Upa!

So make sure to come to Broadway Comedy for the kick-off event on Tuesday, July 17th, 2012! And tell ’em I sent you! (LOL)

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Great Night At Broadway Comedy

On almost any night of the week you can find a great show at Broadway Comedy Club. Sometimes I just drop by unexpectedly and have yet to be disappointed! The last night I went Monroe Martin was MC’ing the show.

Monroe Martin MC’ing at Broadway Comedy Club!

He said he should never be working with kids because he looks like a huge child! And he does. He said if you detach his head from the rest of his body, he’s actually adorable! (I’m sure he didn’t mean to decapitate himself, cause that couldn’t be cute no matter who you are! LOL)

I had never seen Rich Aronowich before since he’s from Cali, but he’s really funny and the audience thought so too! He does a lot of physical humor, like his impression of a muppet running, plus sound effects, and crazy voices and faces, and it all works.

Rich Aronovich, Screech, or Horshack onstage at Broadway Comedy Club! All three of them did well!

Talking about internet dating he mentioned his favorite site, www.yourgonnadiealone.com. I liked his take on why he hates musicals! ” I don’t wanna pay $85. to hear every thought I ever had in song!” Exactly the reason why I hate musicals too!

He said he looked like either Screech or Arnold Horshack and again the audience likes when comics make fun of their own appearance!

Bryan Scott McFadden is so used to getting thunderous applause I don’t even think it phases him anymore. His character work is superb, like when he imitates the old fighters at the gym. Fantastic.

Bryan Scott McFadden making a point onstage at Broadway Comedy Club!

I liked his new bit about every job should have an MC to announce you when you get to work. And he told one couple they were sitting there staring like an Amish Village at Radio Shack!

Laurie Parmenteri was also very funny. I had also never seen her before. Her writing is very sharp and her jokes are succinct. She said she started birth control. Once a month she throws herself down a flight of stairs.

Laurie Parmenteri making people laugh at Broadway Comedy Club!

She said she was against abortion except in a case of emergency, like if SHE got pregnant! She also said she never got an abortion, but asked the audience not to tell her boyfriend because she already spent the money!

Kyle Grooms is another killer act. He said in Detroit you can buy a house for five dollars. Detroit is doing so bad, Haiti is throwing a benefit for them! I love when he talks about growing up in the hood with a name like Kyle. No one would ever be scared if they heard that Kyle was looking for them! “Kyle? That ni***r with the glasses??? Hysterical.

And his Barack Obama impression is so right on, I think Kyle should run for President!

The dangerous looking Kyle Grooms killing it onstage at Broadway Comedy Club!

And who better to end a killer show than Mike Vecchione? (That’s a redundant question, meaning it needs no answer! It answers itself!) Mike says that women love doctors so he wears a stethoscope on the subway.

He also has sex like he performs CPR, 15 thrusts, two breaths and then he checks for a pulse.

Mike Vecchione doing what he does best, onstage at Broadway Comedy Club!

Mike is a smoker, and when people tell him that smoking is bad and that every cigarette takes 7 minutes off your life he tells them that if their conversation goes on another 30 seconds he’s gonna kill himself anyway, so it won’t matter!

And before I knew it I laughed so much that the show was over! It’s that way every time!

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Al Martin To Open Third Comedy Club in NYC

It’s hard enough to own one comedy club in NYC and make it successful. Two is pretty amazing, but three is completely off the charts. Meet Al Martin the guy who soon will be opening this third comedy club, the Greenwich Village Comedy Club, somewhere on MacDougal Street.

That will mean he has New York Comedy Club on 24th Street between 2nd and 3rd avenue, Broadway Comedy Club on West 53rd Street, which is almost like three clubs in one anyway, with The World, and the upstairs and downstairs rooms going constantly, and now Greenwich Village Comedy.

I have a feeling Al won’t stop until he has a room in every part of the city. The Soho Comedy Club, The Turtle Bay area Comedy Club, … well actually he did have a club in Turtle Bay!

I remember when New York Comedy Club was around 52nd Street and 2nd avenue, and I’d come by to see the variety of shows he had. I recall meeting the late Eric Douglas there, the comedian brother of Michael Douglas, who died very young.

One of the things that Al prides himself on is the variety of the shows he offers. For instance coming up on June 3rd, “The Big Brown Comedy Show” hosted by Aasif Manvi from The Daily Show. Indian comedy is definitely on the rise, as evidenced by the success of Russell Peters, Aziz Ansari, and Kal Penn who plays Kumar in the wildly successful Harold and Kumar films.

The legendary J.J. Walker will be hosting a show there at the end of June, and one night recently, Vinny Parco from the TV show Parco P.I. was there hosting a show called “Naughty Girls”. Despite everything else he does, and with all the reality shows he’s planning, Vinny always makes time to perform comedy, a great love of his.

Vinny Parco of Parco P.I. fame hosting the “Naughty Girls” show at Broadway Comedy Club!

And true to the name of his show he brought a bunch of very naughty girls to do stand-up.

Tatiana, one of Parco’s “Naughty Girls” comics onstage at Broadway Comedy Club!

It was a very fun show including Judy Cianciotto, Maureen Langan, and Jen Raumero!

Vinny Parco with one of his “naughtiest” girls on stage at Broadway Comedy Club!

Al is a funny comic in his own right, so now he doesn’t have to audition at any other clubs. (LOL) He’ll have three stages with which to indulge his passion! Good luck Al. Can’t wait to start hanging out there!

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Todd Barry, Kurt Braunholer at Broadway Comedy

On any night at Broadway Comedy you’re liable to be surprised as to who drops in to perform. Recently both David Spade and Steven Wright stopped by and thrilled the audience with a surprise performance.

Dan Soder hosting the show at Broadway Comedy!

On the recent night I stopped by, the very funny Dan Soder was hosting, and had a line-up of funny local comics like Orlando Baxter who I had never seen before but offered his opinion on fire drills in schools. How often does it happen that there’s a fire in a school. He thinks it would be better to have “Hey, that M-F’er’s got a dun drill.” That would probably be more effective!

Orlando Baxter telling the audience about fire drills and what other things strike him funny!

Or Jeff Wesselschmidt, who once he got over his obsession with what I refer to as bathroom type material, had this comment on girls with big butts: “If a girl has a big butt, ,she has to know it cause guys who like big butts are generally not stingy with compliments!”

Jeff Wesselschmidt onstage at Broadway Comedy!

The always popular Jon Fisch came out and killed it for the crowd, but it felt like he was doing a longer set than usual, and it turned out that he was. Whoever was supposed to light him seems to have gone on vacation in the middle of Jon’s set, so being the pro that he is, he just kept coming up with more material, until finally someone noticed, and brought up the next comic! The audience had no idea, but Jon and I had a good laugh about it!

Jon Fisch killing it onstage at Broadway Comedy in a “hyper-extended” set! (LOL)

What Jon didn’t realize was that I caught him standing in what I can only describe as some sort of “ballet position”, which is something I have to ask him about! He seemed very comfortable in that position, so maybe he studied ballet at some point in his past!

Jon Fisch in “resting position”, or some sort of ballet stance onstage at Broadway Comedy! Nice going Jon! (LOL)

Kurt Braunholer, who teaches improv at The Pit, which is also where he co-hosted Hot Tub Variety Show, is another crowd pleaser who still performs with Kristen Schaal, a talented comic and Daily Show correspondent! They host a show together out in Brooklyn, and also do a show together on Sirus Radio called “High Five With Kurt and Kristen.”

Kurt Braunholer performing directly into the mic at Broadway Comedy Club!

The highlight for me was seeing Todd Barry who I don’t get to see perform all that often, but who I always enjoy. His laid-back understated delivery just makes me laugh out loud, which I don’t often do. If most comics had to face an audience filled with people like me, they’d be very unhappy.

I do a lot of smiling, but it takes a lot to make me laugh out loud. Not because I don’t want to, but I like to let it just happen because I can’t help it!

Todd Barry in a surprise guest spot at Broadway Comedy Club!

Todd makes me laugh out loud! His combination of sarcasm, and clever punchlines do it for me.

You’ve seen Todd in Louie, on Sarah Silverman, (not exactly on HER, but on her show!), in the 2nd season of Adult Swim’s “Delocated”, and in films like “The Wrestler.” I try and see him whenever I can. I think he tours a lot and appears in festivals occasionally!

But it was a great night at Broadway Comedy, and it just shows that you never know who’s liable to pop in!

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Letterman Auditions at Broadway Comedy

I went to check out the Letterman auditions at Broadway Comedy Club, and was very impressed by the level of the show. First of all the club is literally around the corner from the theatre where the Letterman Show is shot, so whoever gets picked can go right over, (although that’s not how it works! LOL)

Myq Kaplan hosting the Letterman auditions at Broadway Comedy Club!

Every person on the show could easily be seen on Letterman. Myq Kaplan was hosting and he’s always great!

When I came in, Kurt Braunholer was already on stage doing his thing. I hadn’t seen Kurt since we shared a shuttle from the airport in Montreal to our hotel at last year’s Just For Laughs Festival! if Kurt wasn’t such a nice guy, his name could be kind of scary! (LOL) Kurt Braunholer sounds like he could be one of the “elite guards” on the other side in World War 2! (LOL)

Kurt Braunholer on stage at Broadway Comedy Club!

Kurt does a lot of work with Kristen Schaal, another favorite of mine! They are very close friends!

Kurt Braunholer and Jeffrey Gurian from Comedy Matters TV in Montreal at the Just For Laughs Festival!

As Kurt was finishing his set, I suddenly felt hungry so I went over to who I thought was a waitress and asked her for a menu, to which she replied, “JEFFREY!!!” And it was only then that I realized that the waitress was actually comic Liz Miele who was waiting to go on next. She was all dressed in black and was standing near where the servers stand, and in the dark I thought she was a waitress. We both thought it was funny, and she said I was the third person who asked her for food!

Liz says she often runs for exercise and while she’s running she fantasizes. On her last run she won four Grammys!

Liz Miele, not a waitress, even a little bit, …but all dressed in black, onstage at Broadway Comedy Club!

Lenny Marcus was on next and he never fails to kill! Lenny is just so funny in his calm, laid back manner. He tells the audience he knows that he looks like he’s there to fix someone’s printer.

Commenting on the use of the word “dude”, Lenny’s like “I’m no genius, but nothing intelligent has ever come after the word “Dude.” No one ever said, “Dude,scalpel!”

Comic/printer repairman Lenny Marcus onstage at Broadway Comedy Club!

I like when Lenny talks about how hot his apartment is. One day his girlfriend came in complaining of how she couldn’t take the heat anymore, and that it was just too much for her. It was then that Lenny realized he didn’t have a girlfriend. It was so hot he was hallucinating!

I hadn’t seen Adrienne Iapalucci for a while, maybe since she auditioned for Montreal, or was it Last Comic Standing? I’ll have to ask Wayne Rada about that! Adrienne said she ran into an old friend she hadn’t seen in many years who told her she now had 3 kids and asked Adrienne what SHE had been up to. Adrienne shared that she’d gone through a whole tube of Chapstick!

Adrienne Iapalucci entertaining the crowd at Broadway Comedy Club!

Carmen Lynch is another favorite of mine. She’s 6 feet tall and complained that she moved in with two people who are 5’1″ and she can’t hear anything they’re saying!

A tall, young, and very much alive Carmen Lynch onstage at Broadway Comedy Club!

She also said she doesn’t expect to live too long cause you never see tall old ladies! That’s very funny! ( And hopefully not true! LOL)

Then I re-united with my old buddy Mike Sommerville who I really hadn’t crossed paths with in a while. He claims his grandmother is a bad drinker. She drank a whole bottle of gin and told him he looked familiar.

Mike Sommerville making people laugh at Broadway Comedy Club!

His best friend just got married and things just aren’t the same. Now his sheets match his curtains. In Mike’s place, his sheets ARE his curtains! That made me laugh out loud!

He waits as long as he can to do the laundry. Based on what’s in his closet now, he can either go swimming, or graduate from high school! How can you not love sitting in a comedy show with lines like that?

All in all, another great night at Broadway Comedy Club!

Posted in: Celeb Photos, Comedians In The News, Comedy Clubs, Comedy Events, Comedy Matters, Nightlife Events, Sketch Comedy, Variety Show

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